[K12OSN] Hardware questions

[Chris Thomas]

I agree with Petre. You need lots O' ram. Do to your
budget constraint, you might have to sacrifice some
CPU power, but that's ok since you are going to have a
duel CPU setup. I would look into a dual Opteron
solution as well. Sometimes AMD is cheaper than Intel.

 If you are going to have 25 clients, I would look
into gigabit on the server and a switch that has
gigabit uplinks. I got a 24 10/100 + 2 100/1000 uplink
(26 ports total) unmanaged switch from dell a year ago
for about $100 (on sale). So consider the cost of new
network equipment too.

Chris

--- Petre Scheie <petre at maltzen.net> wrote:

> I suggest, if possible, getting more RAM; go to 4GB
> if you can. The rule of thumb for 
> memory is 100MB per user,  With 20-25 users, you're
> already at or over the line, and 
> that's not even counting some RAM for the basic OS
> stuff.  If going to 4GB breaks your 
> budget, consider getting just two drives, instead of
> three, in a RAID1 (mirrored) 
> configuration.  You won't have as much disk space,
> but that will only eventually, 
> gradually become a problem; insufficient RAM will be
> a problem right from the start.  I 
> would think you'd be able to get through a year with
> just two disks, and if they do 
> start getting full, you can budget for additional or
> bigger disks next year.  After a 
> year of use, the people in charge will understand
> the idea that the disks might be 
> filling up.
> 
> Petre
> 
> Joe Augsburger wrote:
> > I've been reading the list now for about two
> months ago; barely able to spell Linux but a couple
> of months ago I 'borrowed' a Dell computer out of
> one of my school's labs and installed K12LTSP on it
> and have it on my mostly Novell network. We've run a
> couple of thin clients at surprising speed with just
> this poor workstation-turned-server. Enough to
> 'prove' the concept and I've been given----very
> rare, here----$3000 to put a real Linux server into
> service. 
> > 
> > My question, since I've only got one chance to buy
> a decent server...what do these specs sound like to
> you folks who are more knowlegeable?
> > 
> >>From DAKTech computers (one of my state's
> preferred providers)
> > 
> > dual Xeon 2.4 Ghz with 533 fsb
> > ultra 320 scsi (three, 36 gb Seagate drives)
> > 2 gb RAM
> > Intel SRCZRU Dual RAID controller
> > Dual integrated Intel Pro 1000+
> > 
> > maybe add a fiber-optic NIC?
> > 
> > Will this serve 20-25 thin clients (mostly
> internet, word processing, etc) acceptably, and does
> anyone have experience with this type of RAID
> controller? I've read all the posts in the last two
> months or so and it seems that some difficulties
> exist with linux picking up some RAID controllers.
> > 
> > I appreciate any information you share.
> > 
> > Thanks,
> > Joe Augsburger
> > network admin
> > Douglas County SD#15
> > Days Creek, Oregon
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
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> > 
> 
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